WILLIAM JAMES ROYDEN

(1879-1920)

Private W J Royden 355114, 10th Battalion, Liverpool Scottish (The King's Liverpool Regiment)

A Brief Biography

Researched and written by

Mike Royden

The Family of John Royden in late 19th century Liverpool

The Family of John Royden in late 19th century Liverpool

John Royden was born in 1844 in Toxteth in the heart of Liverpool's South Dockland. His father, Joseph Royden, was a carter serving Liverpool docks. His grandfather, also called John, had brought the family to Liverpool from West Kirby, where the Royden’s were well established as farmers. John (1783-1849) grew up in West Kirby parish, at a time that the port of Liverpool was expanding and offering increasing opportunities to those hoping for a secure future. Shortly after his marriage and sometime between 1808 and 1811, he moved to Liverpool, to Harrington Street, an area of dense court housing close to the south docks.

John Royden (1844-1899) married Elizabeth Wesley in 1872. She was the daughter of John and Elizabeth Wesley of Leeds Street. near the terminus wharves of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, just to the north of where the Pier Head now lies. Her father was a local tailor. John Royden was a boiler maker who could read and write, but Elizabeth could only mark her name with a cross, as she did on their marriage certificate. This was very common - the Education Act had only just been placed on the statute book and it is unlikely she had had a formal education.

Within a short time the couple were struggling to make ends meet in the court housing of Upper Mann Street. The south docks area was a warren of back to back courts, with poor conditions and little sanitation and this was a tough life bring up a large family.

Left: Upper Mann Street

On the night of the 1881 census, the enumerator recorded five children – four sons and a daughter. Also in the house that night was Elizabeth, John Royden's older sister, a forty year old unmarried charwoman. She may have lived there or in a house nearby and stopped overnight to help with the birth of Charles who had been born earlier that day. There must have been a great deal of fuss and excitement going on when the recorder had knocked on the door.

In the 1890’s, the family began to break up. They were now living in 394a Mill Street, the main thoroughfare passing through the area on the route towards Liverpool town centre. This was an improvement, although slight, on their previous accommodation. At least they were away from the court housing. Joseph, the eldest, was the first to leave. Employed as a decorator, he married Elizabeth Albiston in 1891. Elizabeth (18), and her younger sister Ruth, were actually living in the Royden household in 1891. Their father, John Albiston, was recorded as ‘away at sea’ and in the absence of their mother, the Royden’s were looking after them. Joseph and Elizabeth moved a few doors down to 408a Mill Street.

Margaret was next to leave. She was working as a shop assistant and married Joseph Taylor in 1894. They moved to one of the new terrace houses in nearby Denton Street, just off Mill street. By the 1911 Census, they were back in a house next door to where Margaret had lived with her parents – 396a Mill Street. They had eight children, although 3 died in infancy.

John Henry Royden was working as a shop boy in 1891. Two years later at the age of only 17 he boarded a ship to America, this was a one way ticket as John made New York his home. His descendants live there to this day.

William became a timber clerk in the offices of a local timber yard and moved into nearby Grove Cottage.

But times had already become increasingly hard into the late 1890's when their father, John Royden, was admitted to Toxteth Workhouse Infirmary – this was the NHS of its day, there was no alternative for those who could not pay for hospital care. John died in 1899 aged 55 and was buried in the adjoining Smithdown Road Cemetery in an unmarked grave. In the 1901 census, his sister Ann is also recorded in the Workhouse Infirmary. A former charwoman, she was by then an infirm pauper, and unlikely to have seen the family home again. Elizabeth, John's widow, was living at 36 Denton Street according to the 1901 census and only her youngest child Charles was still at home. But by 1903 he too had left and Elizabeth was alone.

Left: The Mill Street mill in 1950. Above: the view across Grafton Street in 1905 – see bottom left section of following map

Some of the Royden homes in the Dingle, Liverpool, occupied by the children and families of John and Elizabeth Royden. Charles Royden Margaret Elizabeth Royden Wellington Road William Royden 36 Denton St (1901) Grove Cottage (Royden) Taylor 161 160 (1901) 21 Denton St (1901)

Joseph Royden jnr Joseph Royden Snr 384a Mill Street 408a Mill Street 1901

John and Elizabeth Royden (1844-1899) Margaret (Royden) Taylor family moved from Upper Mann Street (1881) to 396a Mill Street (1911) live here at 394a Mill Street (1891)

Census Records of John Royden (1844-1899)

Census of 1861 showing the family of Joseph Royden (1817-1880), including his son John (1844-1899)

Census of 1881 showing the family of John Royden (1844-1899)

Census of 1891 showing the family of John Royden (1844-1899) showing the family now living in 394a Mill Street

Census of 1901 showing John Royden’s widow Elizabeth, also nearby in Denton Street at number 36, with son Charles still at home.

Toxteth Workhouse

(Coincidently the birthplace of the author, although by then it was the NHS run Sefton General Hospital).

Left: Gore’s Street Directory 1911 – extract for Mill Street - shows the family still living very close together;

Thomas Evans’, William Royden’s father-in-law, is registered at the top in Grove Cottage, where William was also now residing.

Older brother Joseph Royden is at no.384a, while brother-in-law Joe Taylor, married to Margaret Royden, is at no.396a.

Younger brother Charles Royden was at 161 Wellington Road, off Mill Street.

William, meanwhile, had secured a job with a nearby timber-yard, engaged as a Timber-Clerk in the office. By the time of the 1901 census he had married and moved in with his wife’s family in 342 Grove Cottage. Grove Cottage was a local landmark (also known as the White Cottage) being a survivor of the 17th century amid the now densely packed back to back terrace and court housing in the south dock area. William’s new wife was Agnes Evans, aged 20 and two years his junior. Agnes, born 9 August 1880 in Toxteth, was the daughter of Thomas Evans, a ship rigger of Newcastle Emlyn in South West Wales, and Agnes Martin of Toxteth. They had a daughter – Hilda Agnes Royden born in Grove Cottage, on 26 November 1907.

Two years later, tragedy struck when Agnes, William’s wife, died on 10 August 1909, the cause thought to be complications during childbirth.

The family continued to live in Grove Cottage, as the 1911 census shows:

Age Relationship to Marital Years Name: Sex: in Occupation: Where born: head: Status: married: 1911: COUNTY OF CARDIGAN EVANS, RIGGER HEAD MARRIED M 66 CARDIGAN THOMAS SHIP SOUTH WALES EVANS, LIVERPOOL WIFE MARRIED 37 F 53 AGNES A LANCS EVANS, SEA- LIVERPOOL WILLIAM SON SINGLE M 25 FARINGMAN LANCS M OFFICER EVANS, LIVERPOOL DAUGHTER SINGLE F 21 MARY T LANCS ROYDEN, LIVERPOOL GRANDDAUGHTER F 3 HILDA LANCS ROYDEN, TIMBER LIVERPOOL SON IN LAW WIDOWER M 31 WILLIAM CLERK LANCS

Thomas Evans of Newcastle Emlyn and Agnes Martin of Toxteth

(parents of William’s first wife Agnes and residents of Grove Cottage)

Upper Mann Street Grove Cottage St John the Baptist School

Liverpool in 1906

- extract shows Toxteth Park, near Herculaneum shore - Grove Cottage is arrowed (William’s Home) - Denton Street is in the centre, parallel to Wellington Road, family home of Charles Royden (William’s brother) - Mill Street runs diagonally across, where various family members lived - Royden Street can seen at the bottom right

10th Battalion, Liverpool Scottish (The King's Liverpool Regiment)

On 22 June 1910, William enlisted with the 10th Battalion, Liverpool Scottish (The King's Liverpool Regiment). This territorial regiment was no doubt the answer to the void left in his life following the death of his young wife only a few months earlier, but also a chance for excitement and trips away. It was originally formed as an infantry battalion on 30th April 1900 in response to the Boer War crisis. It was raised from among educated and professional young Scotsmen in the city as the 8th (Scottish) Volunteer Battalion, The King's (Liverpool Regiment). There was an annual subscription of 10 shillings (50p) and an entrance fee of £2.

William signed on for 4 years as a Private – Number 2256. By 1910, the battalion was regarded across the city as not just for local Scots, but one for the more educated class, professionals, white collar management, rather than the labouring class. William was probably encouraged to join for the social benefits by his work colleagues. In peacetime, he may have viewed this as a way for advancement both socially and also in business. For a great many men from the city it was a way to bring excitement and adventure into their lives, an opportunity for travel, trips away at a time when holidays were rare.

Liverpool Scottish returning from camp 1910 The battalion's dress uniform was traditional highland attire which featured a khaki tunic with scarlet collar and facings, together with a feather bonnet or Glengarry. Christopher Forbes Bell, (in whose honour the family tartan was adopted), was a former Major in the 2nd Volunteer Battalion. He was appointed commanding officer and which officially commenced on 24 October 1900. He was succeeded by Andrew Laurie Macfie in 1902, and a detachment served overseas in the Second Boer War in South Africa that same year with the 4th Service Company of the Gordon Highlanders, the Liverpool Scottish being attached to the 1st Battalion of that regiment.

Group portrait of members of The Liverpool Scottish (1/10th Battalion, The King's Liverpool Regiment), September 1914. Photo by Robert Andrew Scott Macfie (1868-1935) Imperial War Museum catalogue number HU 57196

A purpose built accommodation for the battalion headquarters was opened in 1904 at Fraser Street, in Liverpool City Centre, which they maintained until 1967. In 1908, the battalion was retitled the 10th (Scottish) Battalion The King’s (Liverpool) Regiment, and shortly before the First World War they were affiliated to The Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders. By 1914 they were subordinate to the South Lancashire Brigade, West Lancashire Division.

The First World War 1914-1918

Two battalions of The Liverpool Scottish served in the First World War. The 1/10th were mobilised in 1914 and were sent thereafter to the defences on the River Forth. William was posted on 5 August, the day after the declaration of war, to D Company which encamped at King’s Park, Edinburgh as part of the River Forth defences.

Liverpool Scottish march past, Royal Visit to Liverpool 1913

E Company, The Liverpool Scottish (1/10th Battalion, The King's Liverpool Regiment) parading for kit inspection, September 1914.

Photo by Robert Andrew Scott Macfie (1868–1935). Imperial War Museum catalogue number HU 57197 On 1st November 1914, the 1/10th embarked for France and spent the winter in the Ypres area. On 16th June 1915, in a successful attack at Hooge they lost 402 casualties killed, wounded and missing, 74% of the battalion strength.

Arrival of 10th Battalion (Liverpool Scottish) King's Liverpool Regiment, Tunbridge Wells Railway Station 1914

However, it is not thought that William served in this campaign but was transferred to the newly raised 2/10th battalion, billeted first in Tunbridge Wells, then Blackpool.

It seems that late in 1915 William may have returned to Liverpool. Whatever was going on in his personal life is not clear, but the battalion records at the Liverpool Scottish Museum Archive show that he had ‘deserted’. This was on a subscription register and may have been an over officious piece of administration, rather than a serious case of court martial. He may have had to return to his job, or attend to his infant child. So many questions still remain unanswered. What is certain is that the entry shows ‘Deserter – struck off 23.10.15’ then, ‘returned & discharged Term of Engagement 5.6.16’

Meanwhile, the 1/10th were now in action on the Somme, where, reconstituted with new recruits, they again lost heavily in the battle for Guillemont in August 1916. (During this battle the Battalion’s Medical Officer Captain Noel Chavasse won the Victoria Cross. A year later he was to win, posthumously, a Bar to his VC).

William probably rejoined the 1/10th by early 1917, as he was assigned a new army regimental number – 355114 – which suggests he was active again by April 1917. This was part of a block of numbers assigned to the 10th, so William had rejoined his original battalion and this also confirms that the earlier ‘desertion’ was not the serious offence the subscription register might have suggested.

Liverpool Scottish in action at Hooge, Ypres Salient 1915

The 1/10th returned to the Ypres Salient in Belgium at Wieltje. William is likely to have joined his battalion here. A new offensive commenced on 31 July 1917, to try and penetrate the German lines, advance to the Belgian coast and capture German submarine bases. The Liverpool Scottish experienced some of the heaviest resistance on the Salient, taking heavy losses around the fortified farms. The battalion remained in some captured German trenches until they were relieved on 3 August. (It was in this action, known as the Third Battle of Ypres, that Captain Chavasse died of wounds on 4 August having again tended to wounded soldiers. His actions earned him a posthumous second V.C. one of only three men to be so decorated, and the sole double recipient of the First World War).

By September the Scottish had relocated south to Epehy, thirteen miles south of Cambrai, where its division took part in the Battle of Cambrai in November.

Germany's final attempt to achieve a decisive victory began on 21 March 1918, when the Spring Offensive was launched (Operation Michael) By the 25th, substantial gains in territory had been made in the direction towards Amiens. The Liverpool Scottish and the 55th Division were prepared, but did not participate in the desperate Allied defence until the next phase of the offensive, Operation Georgette.

However, William’s younger brother Charles was involved in the fighting against Operation Michael just a few miles away, near Arras. He was killed in action on the first day of the German push. He was killed in a small village defending the approach to Arras, France.

Operation Georgette shifted the focus back to the devastated town of Ypres, in Flanders. Begun on 9 April, there was a considerable bombardment before the attack and there were severe casualties amongst the Liverpool Scottish from the effects of the phosgene shells.

The Liverpool Scottish were then involved in the defence of the Givenchy sector during the Battle of Estaires. By April 1918, there were so many losses sustained that they absorbed the 2/10th Battalion that had landed in France back in February 1917. As the German Spring Offensive was repelled, the allies turned the tide in the Hundred Days Offensive, the final phase of the war from August until November. The Liverpool Scottish were involved in one of the last actions at La Bassée Canal, in October.

The final month of the war offered little respite to the battalion. In the days leading up to the Armistice of 11 November, the Liverpool Scottish continued to be pressed into action where they helped to secure numerous villages before crossing the River Scheldt on 9 November. On the day of the Armistice, the Liverpool Scottish were situated at Villers-Notre-Dame.

The Medal Card of William Royden showing the award of the British Medal for service in Belgium/France and the Victory Medal After the War

Soon after demobilisation, William got married again in early 1919. His wife was Mary Davies. Mary was born in Llangrannog in South West Wales and grew up at Garnwythog, the family farm nearby. By 1910, Mary’s family had moved a few miles away to a farm just outside the town of Newcastle Emlyn, called Penralltgeri-isaf, situated at the top of a steep farm track above a valley community of weaver’s cottages.

Her father William, a dairy farmer, had passed away in 1917 aged 68, and the farm was now being run by his widow Mary and her eldest son David. There is no evidence at present to show that Mary had moved to Liverpool before her marriage. It is quite possible that she was a friend of his first wife whose father was also from Newcastle Emlyn. Had met on family visits with the Evans’ back to their home in Newcastle Emlyn before the war?

Whatever the reason, the war was behind them and it was time to look forward to a new beginning. Their new found happiness, however, was to be short lived.

Originally it was believed that William had died from wounds suffered in the war as he is recorded on the Commonwealth War Commission database as dying in South West Wales in 1920. The suggestion was that he had returned home from the war with little hope of long term survival, and he had gone to his wife’s family home near Newcastle Emlyn to convalesce and live out his last days with comfort and care. There is some truth in that, but quite by chance a different story has now emerged.

On receiving William’s death certificate, there was no mention of war wound, but that he had died of Malaria with secondary Meningitis. This was baffling. Did this mean he had picked up the disease during the hot summer weather in the trenches?

More research proved fruitless and it seemed all avenues were closed.

Family research then turned towards his older brother John – it is presumed he jumped ship (as a merchant seaman) in New York – exact date unknown, anytime between 1890 and 1921– he has descendants still living in New York. Had he served in the war or did he go to the States before outbreak of hostilities? A search of passenger lists was begun (it is not entirely clear that he was a seaman or passenger at the time of his emigration). The list showed no sign of John, but remarkably there was a W.J. Royden in 1920 travelling from Liverpool to West Africa – this couldn’t be William could it? It did not make sense.

Sure enough, the list revealed a William J Royden, Timber Merchant, travelling to Lagos on 28 January 1920 on the S.S. Elmina operated by the African Steamship Company. Not only was William fit enough to marry, he had returned to his old job and was now travelling to West Africa on company business, no doubt setting up business in Mahogany. Is this where he picked up malaria? It seems probable. Nevertheless, his name on the passenger list was discovered completely unexpectedly while searching for his older brother.

William may not have known for months that he was infected, as it is not uncommon for certain malaria strains to lie dormant for periods ranging from several months (6–12 months is typical) to as long as three years. During this time when the parasite is in the liver, there are no visible symptoms and the victim doesn't feel

The Elmina (NB. the S.S. Albertville was sold in 1910 to Elder-Dempster and renamed Elmina)

William Royden travelled on this vessel to Lagos, West Africa on business for the timber yard on 28 January 1920. He contracted malaria from which he would not recover and died on 9 November 1920.

Passenger list for the Elmina 28th January 1920 Liverpool to Lagos

Death certificate of William Royden sick. There were incidences of malaria on the western front – the official history of 1916 does not record the disease among the ten most common illness, but by 1918 it was the fifth most common. This, of course, could have been due to soldiers coming from foreign theatres of war such as Salonika, where they may have been infected. William had only served on the Western Front.

But, by the autumn of 1920 symptoms had no doubt begun to occur. It is likely that William did go to South West Wales to try to return to good health or live out his last days, as it was unlikely he was going there for a holiday in November. Sadly, his illness also developed into Meningitis and he died on 9 November 1920 at home at Penralltgeri-isaf, Brongwyn Road, Near Newcastle Emlyn. His wife’s family were at his bedside and brother-in-law, David Davies, reported the death to the authorities. William was buried in his wife’s family plot at Llangranog (Capel-y-Wig) Congregational Chapelyard. (This was the family chapel before they relocated to Newastle Emlyn, Capel-y-Wig being a few hundred yards along the lane from Garnwythog, their previous home).

Mary had already suffered a bereavement only three years earlier when her father William Davies, a farmer born in Penbryn, a hamlet near LLangrannog, had died aged 68 in 1917. The electoral roll of 1918 shows his wife as owner occupier of P Penralltgeri-isaf, with his son David also on the roll.

In August 2010, the author and his two sons holidayed in the area for a few days and visited some of the places relating to William to try to discover more about his time there and his second wife’s family. On visiting Penralltgeri-isaf, the present owner, Carol Jones, a retired producer/director for S4C, was most hospitable and showed us around the house before producing early maps and a framed auction notice. This notice was dated 1922. So the family may have felt the farm was too big for them or may have just wanted to move away due to their recent bereavements. Further research has so far been unable to locate where they went to, although Mary Davies (wife of William Davies) was also buried in the family plot at Capel-y-Wig when she passed away in 1948.

William Royden is recorded on the Commonwealth War Graves database. Why? Was his illness a direct result of the war? Did Mary therefore receive a war pension? There is no record. He seemingly died two years after the war from a disease he probably picked up from a business trip to West Africa, so why would he be recorded on the CWGC database? Maybe Mary Royden was in desperate need of a pension and claimed for his death from war illness. If she had to produce a death certificate, there is of course, no mention of the trip to West Africa. Did she receive his medals and memorial penny if one was issued? (The medal card indicates William was entitled to the British Medal and the Victory Medal due to service in France and Belgium). Where did Mary go to? How did she meet William? Could it have been through family visits to Newcastle Emlyn when William was still married to his first wife? On the 1911 census, Mary had a younger brother John Davies, who was a timber yard clerk. Could there have been a link there though business dealings with William? Another mystery. Research continues. But how ironic that for four years William survived everything the Germans threw at him only to be done for by an insect almost two years to the day after armistice and only 18 months after finding happiness at last with his new wife following a return to his job as Manager of the timber-yard.

By far the most surprising discovery by the author was that William was survived by a child. It had always been believed that William’s daughter Hilda, from his first marriage born in 1907, had died in infancy. This seems to have come from oral family evidence when research into the family first began in the early 1970s, and probably came from an interview with Charles Royden, William’s nephew. It came as a shock to discover this only a few days before the planned trip to Llangrannog in August 2010 that William’s daughter grew up a healthy child, got married and had four sons. It was only due to an email from her eldest son Roy Smyth that this came to light. But that was not all. Roy, a chauffer for the Lord Mayor of Liverpool, had in his possession numerous photographs, including the magnificent studio portrait of William, but also his kilt pin, swagger stick and sporran!

But why was she unknown to her Uncle’s side of the family? After the death of Agnes, William continued to live in Grove Cottage, the home of his wife’s family. It was natural that they should bring up Hilda to enable her father to continue his job in the timber yard. After William’s death in 1920 Hilda Royden continued to be brought up in the Evans household, and consequently seems to have either lost touch or became more distant from her Royden cousins, to the extent that her existence seems to have forgotten by the that side of the family. They were very young at that time, and such distant memories had diminished when they were interviewed sixty years later. Thanks to contact re-established by her son Roy this has now been readdressed and it gratifying to make the family complete again.

Llangrannog, South West Wales

South West Wales, showing Newcastle Emlyn and Llangrannog

Llangrannog, with the Chapel at Capel-y-Wig circled, and the Davies’ family original farm at Garn-wythog (far right)

The Chapel at Capel-y-Wig circled, and the Davies’ family original farm at Garn-wythog (far right) (Top – 1906, bottom – modern)

Capel-y-Wig, Llangranog

The family of Mary Davies (2nd wife of William Royden) in Llangrannog in 1891. All were Welsh speaking, probably speaking very little English.

Grave of William James Royden

Left – author Mike Royden, with son Liam, and below left, Gill Royden (right) great-grand-niece of William and sister of Mike Royden, with her daughter Beth.

Capel-y-Wig, Llangranog

Llangrannog in 2010

Newcastle Emlyn, South West Wales

Newcastle Emlyn c.1910

Newcastle Emlyn in 2010

Newcastle Emlyn c.1950

Penralltgeri-isaf

Penralltgeri-isaf in 1906

Penralltgeri-isaf

1911 Census for Penralltgeri-isaf

Sale of Penrallt Geri-isaf 8 September 1922

Mary Royden’s father, William Davies, had died in 1917, and now her husband William too. So the farm was put up for auction – but what became of the family, especially Mary?